Market provisionally ends with small gains

Domestic stocks eked out small gains after alternately moving in positive and negative zone throughout the trading session. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 30.17 points or 0.09% at 33,626.97, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 6.45 points or 0.06% at 10,331.60, as per the provisional closing data. Oil & gas stocks gained. Shares of index heavyweight and software major Infosys dropped.

Key benchmark indices drifted lower in early trade amid initial volatility. Stocks hovered in a small range in negative zone uptill mid-afternoon trade. Indices trimmed gains in late trade amid high volatility soon after hitting intraday high.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index provisionally rose 0.57%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index provisionally rose 0.58%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,614 shares rose and 1,069 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

Index heavyweight and software major Infosys lost 1.31% to Rs 1,130.

Oil & gas stocks gained. Among shares of oil exploration and production (E&P) companies, Reliance Industries (up 0.29%) and Oil India (up 0.41%) edged higher. ONGC (down 0.37%) fell.

Among PSU OMCs, HPCL (up 1.78%), BPCL (up 2.81%), and Indian Oil Corporation (up 0.55%) gained.

IndusInd Bank fell 0.5%. IndusInd Bank during market hours today, 6 April 2018 announced collaboration with Samsung Electronics to enable its MasterCard and Visa Credit Card customers to use Samsung Pay. IndusInd credit card holders can now tap and pay at merchant outlets having Point of Sale (PoS) terminals using a wide range of Samsung Smartphones. Samsung Pay is a payments system which allows customers to simply tap and pay on the go using their registered IndusInd Bank Credit Cards.

Lupin rose 3.14% after the company said that it has received the Establishment Investigation Report (EIR) from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the successful inspection of its Pithampur, Unit 1. The inspection was conducted in July 2017. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 6 April 2018.

Lupin's managing director, Nilesh Gupta, said that the successful outcome of this inspection is encouraging, and further validates the company's commitment to meeting global manufacturing standards.

Overseas, European stocks were trading lower, while most Asian stocks declined as traders digested the latest developments in the US-China trade spat and eyed all-important monthly US jobs data for March later in the day for clues on US monetary policy. Mainland China markets are shut for a holiday.

German industrial output fell in February, data released today, 6 April 2018 showed. Industrial output in adjusted terms fell 1.6% in February month-on-month after a 0.1% increase in January. Industrial output was up 2.6% from February 2017 in calendar-adjusted terms, although the pace of year-on-year growth slowed from 6.3% in January.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could slide 202 points at the opening bell today, 6 April 2018. In an announcement that came after US stock trading closed yesterday, 5 April 2018 President Donald Trump instructed the US trade representative to consider slapping an extra $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods. The latest move is a continuation of a growing trade dispute between the two countries. Trump previously announced $50 billion in proposed tariffs on goods imported from China, which responded by announcing about $50 billion in proposed tariffs on US goods.

US stocks closed higher yesterday, 5 April 2018 with major indexes posting their first three-day rally in several weeks as investors dialed back fears that a trade spat between the US and China will turn into a full-blown trade war.

Meanwhile, the US trade deficit rose 1.6% in February and remained near a 10-year high. The US trade deficit rose to $57.6 billion in February from $56.7 billion in the prior month, data released yesterday, 5 April 2018 showed.

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